Wire damage causes Metro-North delays

Updated 10:40 am, Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Delays were widespread Wednesday on Metro-North, due to separate incidents involving the electricity to power the trains.

The delays at 8 a.m. were between 25 and 30 minutes on the New Haven Line, with the Danbury branch line reporting shorter waits due to “late equipment and congestion in the vicinity of South Norwalk.’’

Both the main New Haven line and the Danbury branch were running on or close to schedule by 10:30 a.m.

The delay had been reduced to 15 minutes on the main New Haven line by 9:50 a.m., near the end of the peak morning commute.

Spokesman Shams Tarek said that a circuit problem between Bridgeport and Stratford affected the overhead catenary power lines.

“It is being inspected and addressed right now,’’ Tarek said at 7:55 a.m.

“There was a earlier problem with a grounded wire in a different location’’ that also briefly delayed trains, the Metro North spokesman said.

On Twitter, passengers were reporting standing-room only trains and that some trains had been canceled.

Some reported extra trains starting from the Fairfield Metro station into Grand Central Terminal to ease the delays.

Tarek said he could not immediately confirm those scheduling changes, but that the cause of the delay was being addressed as quickly as possible.